* Gov Alex Otti (left), Peter Obi (right)
The Pathfinder
Wednesday December 31, 2025
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Former Anambra State governor and 2023 Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) Mr. Peter Obi will today formally defect to the African Democratic Party (ADC) in Enugu.
Leader of the Obidients Movement, Dr. Yunusa Tanko said they picked Enugu as place for the historical defection because the South-East wants to make a statement that will shape the 2027 polls.
The event is billed for Nike Lake Hotel, Enugu.
However, the Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has ruled out defecting from the Labour Party despite plans by Obi, to leave the platform.
Otti made the position clear on Tuesday during his monthly media briefing in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, saying he had decided to remain in the Labour Party to help rebuild and reposition it.
In a chat with Vanguard, Tanko disclosed that leaders and members of the Obidient Movement, who bolstered Obi’s presidential push in 2023, were already in Enugu, the South-East zonal capital for the defection.
He said Obi had been a member of the ADC coalition all the while that today’s event is to chart the way forward for his numerous supporters.
Asked why Obi chose Enugu instead of Awka, Anambra State for the defection, Tanko said: “Enugu is the historical capital of the East, it adds historical solidity when the East wants to make a statement.”
He continued: ‘The programme tomorrow(today) is for Mr Obi to chart the way forward for his numerous supporters across the country ahead of the 2027 elections. The leader is speaking to us today. The Obidient Movement is here to give their support. I am just leaving the Obidient Movement headquarters. We are here in our numbers.”
Early in the week, Obi declared his readiness to contest the 2027 presidential poll, saying he is the best prepared for the job, adding that he would not accept to be vice to anybody.
A leading figure in the Obidient Movement, said that Obi decided to move to the ADC because the ADC platform is perhaps the only one that is yet to be infiltrated by President Bola Tinubu and his All Progressives Congress (APC).
“It is the only platform which has men and women who have the capacity to pose a real challenge to APC’s dominance. The struggle to build a Nigeria that works for all is not about him, it is about our collective survival as a nation.
“He will be moving into the ADC with a full complement of serving federal and state lawmakers and political heavyweights from across Nigeria who believe in him in order to boost his bargaining power.
Gov Otti
The Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has ruled out defecting from the LP despite Obi leaving the platform.
Otti made the position clear on Tuesday during his monthly media briefing in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, saying he had decided to remain in the Labour Party to help rebuild and reposition it.
The governor disclosed that Obi had personally informed him of his intention to exit the party and that he had no objection to the decision, but emphasised that his own political path would be different.
“If you remember, I joined the Labour Party before Peter Obi, so I did not join the party with him. He has communicated to me that he is leaving the Labour Party. I gave him my blessings. But I will remain in the Labour Party, and I told him that I would continue the struggle to rescue the Labour Party,” Otti disclosed.
Otti described the Labour Party as the platform that brought him to office, noting that his loyalty remained with the party for now.
“That is the party that brought me to power. If we fight and get to the end, and we are able to reposition the Labour Party, then we can discuss other options. Therefore, for now, I am not defecting to any party,” he added.
The governor also reacted to recent calls by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, urging him to join the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Otti said he was not interested in being drawn into political distractions.
“Ordinarily, I would not respond to matters like that,” he said, adding that he preferred to stay focused on governance rather than engage in political exchanges.
Otti acknowledged Kalu’s recent distribution of financial support to vulnerable people in the state, saying it aligned with his own appeal for assistance to the less privileged during the Christmas period.
“I thank him for doing that,” the governor said, while stressing that he had chosen a restrained and principled approach to political provocations.
Quoting former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Otti said, “You will never get to your destination if you stop to throw stones at every dog that barks,” adding that his administration would remain focused on its responsibilities to the people of Abia State.
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